A Time For Everything

Last time I posted a wishful Wednesday, I talked about how I'd love to be able to put up a privacy fence around the rest of my yard.

This time, I'm changing direction, and this wish requires way more money and people way smarter than me to take this dream and make it a reality.

So what is this wish, you ask...

A school!



It's no big secret that our educational system has many many issues, and my wish here (if you're gonna dream, you may as well dream BIG, right???) is to create an environment that not only teaches children what they need to know knowledge-wise and then some, but also how society works. I know you're probably wondering what I mean by that and I'll tell you eventually or it may become clear as I ramble.

But let's start with the school...I want it to be birth to twelfth grade. Interesting concept, huh? The reason for that is not because I want to start teaching kids that young but because I want the older kids to have access/exposure to younger children of all ages.

I want no politics. I'm not sure how to pull that off, but this school is about the kids. About how to educate them to the best of our ability. Not about making more money or becoming principle or getting on the school board. I mean those things are not bad in and of themselves, but if that's a teacher or an administrator's primary focus, they're in the wrong place.

The last thing I'm gonna mention as part of my ideal school is I want kids to be tested and then placed in classrooms with like-learning peers and be taught the way they learn best. Sonshine is an auditory learner. If he hears it (a couple of times), he knows it. So lecturers are his ideal teachers. Me--not so much. DD and I like to have instructions and the ability to do the thing.

So what do you think?

I have a lot of other plans and ideas to cover at some point, and I hope you'll share your own.

As you all probably know by now, Sonshine--my youngest--started his senior year in high school this past Monday. It was an exciting but slightly sad day for me. I'm excited that he's a senior and that he's executive officer of his JROTC battalion as well as a member of the National Honor Society and, of course, a member of the marching band. I'm just a little sad that he's on the cusp of true adulthood. Where did all the time go?

As you probably also know, I've been active as Band Mom for the past three years, but with the retirement of the previous band director, I find myself at a crossroads. The new band director has little knowledge of all that I really did for the band, and I'm not all that keen to raise his expectations. However, all that effort garnered me a few privileges. Namely free entrance to football games and contests because I traveled with the band and served as chaperone. Now, there's an assistant band director--no absolute need for a chaperone on the second bus.

I've been reluctant to introduce myself to the new band director though he did call me when he was first hired. Mainly trying to recruit my help in securing workers for Cowboy Stadium events. I nipped that right in the bud. I have no contacts. It was the previous band director who contacted everyone, including me, to round up TABC certified adults to run the registers. I haven't even worked an event yet this year, and the band has worked two so far. I don't feel too guilty about that. I've worked every event except maybe four (of all the ones we actually volunteered to work) in the three years Sonshine's been in band. In December, he'll be eighteen and can get TABC certified and work the rest of the events. :)

The real source of my melancholy is that I really love going to games and to the contests. I didn't mind helping the kids haul things into the stands or handing out half time snacks and ensuring the stands were as clean when we left as when we arrived. I don't want to be hauling props any more though. IMHO, students should be recruited for that purpose. I just don't want to miss out during Sonshine's senior year. I've been there the first three years, I should be there for the last one too.

My fear is that once I step forward, I'll get ALL the responsibility again, and I really don't want it, nor should I have to have it. I mean, I've paid my dues. I know I can say no. It's just that it's Sonshine and I know they need the help and I'm a softie.

I just want to be able to enjoy my senior year too, you know?? I've earned it.

Any suggestions??

Sonshine is some kind of pissed.

So last night, we head to the football game, everything is relatively good. We're playing a huge school. And the game (not the football game, cuz we got our butts handed to us) was on. They played, we played, back and forth with the musical challenges....



Then comes half-time. The other band plays first because they're the away team. So they take the field and our band, except the pit percussion and color guard, are on the back side of the field awaiting our turn to perform.

You'd think a group of 15- to 18-year-olds (who think they're grown) could stand quietly for less than ten minutes. But do they? Apparently, a handful of them were chatting and then got argumentative when the drum majors told them to be quiet. So there was a bit of a kerfuffle within our group.

So fast forward to after we perform and have headed to the equipment truck to load the pit percussion and give the kids their snack. It seems everyone can tell when Sonshine is upset. His posture, his attitude, etc. Even the band director knows, either first- or second-hand, that he's upset. Eventually, she goes in search of him and drags the story out of him. It's verified by a few others. He wasn't one of the troublemakers, just in case you were wondering.

I finally start rounding up the kids to head back to the stands--to get them ready, 'cause we don't go any where without the band director's say-so--and then she calls then together a chews them out. Basically she tells them that they're a third division band and they'll always be a third division band because, while they have the skill to be a first division bad, they lack the self-control to behave and comport themselves properly when at games and contests. It's so definitely true.

The kicker in all of this is that the school we played was the school Sonshine wants to transfer to.

On an unrelated note, as I was revising yesterday, I discovered I'm lacking conflict in my current book. That's not good, people, not good. So it'll be time for some plotting/brainstorming this weekend to try and fix that problem.

Also...taxes this weekend. Ugh.

Have a great weekend. Hope it's better than mine. :)

Well, the first day of school is no longer the big deal it once was, for mom or for the kids, though Sonshine was eager to get back at it. Mostly because (I think) more time he can spend with his girlfriend.

He has a few adjustments to make to his schedule as they put him back into geometry but didn't put him back into JROTC.

Another week and DD begins the fall semester at the local community college. She attended both summer semesters, passing all three classes with flying colors. Let's see how well she does with a full course load. :)

Not much. Just thought I'd check in.

Sonshine starts back to school on Monday. YAY. Though this summer has not seemed as long as past ones. I think because he was busy with school-related activities (mainly band camp) for most of the summer. I think I mentioned somewhere (maybe not here, but one of my other outlets) that they've tacked on an extra hour to the school day. I don't mind so much since I know where he is and what he's up to, but really are they just going to teach him more of nothing? He's going to have re-arrange his schedule and shuffle classes around--they failed to put him in JROTC. Surprisingly. He wants to stay in it (unusual for the most part at this school) and they didn't put him back in. DD on the other hand, did two years (for PE credit) and was outta there faster than our recent rains disappeared. :)

We slept in our own bedroom last night. Thank goodness. The ceiling fan in the writing room is terribly noisy and if I woke up any time after 4am there was NO going back to sleep. I still need to move the dresser and the armoir back in, but that's a task for tonight. I sorta hate to do it as the room looks so airy and roomy right now. But I think Sonshine would really like his room back.

The kids are going to the dump today, taking as much of the old molding and trash as they can fit into the truck. Luckily its a big full-sized sucker and can haul a bunch.

I think I'm going to miss this month's writing meeting. My house still needs a lot of tidying and I have two band related events--one Friday night and a Cowboy game on Sunday afternoon/evening. I think I'll stay home and rest on Saturday. Or get something accomplished around the house. And rest. Take it easy.

The writing is going, albeit slowly. But that's okay.

I'm going to admit it right here, right now, publicly that I'm no longer writing for publication--well, official publication. I do love to write, but it's really fan fiction that tickles my fancy. So I'm going with it. I'll write and post as the muse allows. But I also love the editing aspect so I'm going to hone those skills on my critique partners. Maybe someday I can make some money doing that.

So Rick Perry, my state governor, has joined the run for the White House in 2012. I don't know much about him, though I've gotten the impression that he's a more liberal Republican and that some of his acts have not benefited issues that I hold dear. But his recent words about easing the burden on small businesses got my attention. I guess I need to see what those smarter than me have to say about him.

Again. :)

My critique group is up to five members now. We enlisted two new recruits this weekend. One gal is e-published and not new to writing, the other is the newbie. Both are lovely and fun women.

Now that we've got these two new writers, there can be no more lackadaisical behavior by the rest of us. It's back to the grindstone, back to writing. Or at least back to editing/revising for me. I have a handful of stories that are almost done. My goal is to get these suckers complete. Some are short stories, some are full-length novels, though on the lighter end of the word count requirements. We'll see how it goes.

My college plans will have to wait until the spring semester of 2012. Not because I'm not flip flopping, but after really thinking about what I've got going on this fall--mostly band/band booster related stuff for Sonshine, there's just no good time for me to attend class and complete homework. Plus with being unable to sell fireworks, that means DD's fall tuition will be out of pocket. And she's more important than me at the moment.

The weather has eased slightly with temps only in the low to mid-nineties today and probably for the rest of the week.

Speaking of selling fireworks...the Venus VFD finally called hubby back. They are doing the pop & shoot as long as no order is issued in their county banning the sale/use of fireworks there. Also, they moved, so there'll be a new location. As a side note, it's possible, though unlikely we actually could sell fireworks. Apparently the original order issued by the McLennan County judge had to be ratified by the governor within 48 hours for it to remain in effect. Well, that didn't happen and the judge had to issue a new order. The wording on this one however might just have a loophole. It says no sales in unincorporated areas of the county. And while the store is indeed in an unincorporated town, the old fireworks stand is not. The city of Leroy is incorporated!! Unfortunately, there's no longer electricity or phone service there and it would take a lot of time and effort to get everything in place to be able to sell from the stand. And the money we might make would barely cover the expenses hubby has incurred already this season and that doesn't include the cost of the inventory we bought. I'd much rather cut our losses and do a show. I miss doing shows.

There's not a whole lot to report. It's too hot to do anything 'round here, but let's see...

I have a clothesline now. Again. Finally. I love to smell my sheets with the scent of outdoors and fabric softener in them. Plus with as much as the A/C is running these days, less use of electricity is always a good thing.

Speaking of A/C and the heat, it's been over 100* for many days in a row. Ugh! Though I do drive home with windows down. After sitting in A/C all day I actually do get cold so I get to thaw out. Plus it's only a ten-minute commute.

Um, started watching a new TV show. It's nothing to write home about, but it's entertaining so with the men gone...

I--we--have added a new writer to our critique group. She's a newer member of my writing chapter and she's a lot of fun. So now we are four! And we also need to get back on track with bi-monthly critique sessions. Which means I need to write or edit one of my many WIPs. Ugh...but another chapter-mate made in interesting comment about self-publishing which piqued my interest and got me to thinking about my YA that's still languishing, almost complete, on my hard drive.

I've decided (again) to check into going back to school and getting a two-year English degree. Nothing major, but I've come to the conclusion over the past two years that I prefer editing to writing. And a basic degree would be beneficial. So I'm going to have DD take me to the counselors office at the community college and see what it's going to take.

No word on the fireworks show yet. Hubby has been trying to get in touch with the Venus VFD, but no one has called him back yet. I went to their website and sent an e-mail.

Thunderstorms are in our forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday and that should break our heat wave. After that our temps should drop down to the low-to-mid nineties. Whew! And down at the store yesterday, it was supposed to be 106*!!! Yikes.

Well, that's my ramble for the day. Back to work--I'm feeling productive, so I'm hoping to complete my to-do list for today.

KEEP COOL!!

Last night we met all my son's teachers. All women, all very nice. All very committed to making sure each student understood the subjects being taught. All seeming to love having our son in her class. His English/Reading teacher was impressed by his broad vocabulary--especially the big words he knows how to use. With a mom who loves to read and write, and two big sisters who were a bit older than him, he's been exposed to an advanced vocabulary since he was born.

He is also sitting first chair in band at the moment. Woo hoo!

We met the young lady he likes--a flautist and cheerleader. She's a cutie.

We've signed him up for the tutoring program--not because he needs help right now, but just to make sure that at the first sign of trouble the help is in place. The tutoring program is 34 hours over the course of the semester and provides a meal and transportation. How nice is that??

The thing that most impressed me was that all his teachers spoke well. We live in a very mixed neighborhood, more blacks and Hispanics than whites. In fact, there are only 42 white kids in this school, but I digress. As you can imagine most of the teachers at his school are also black. And a lot of the time, in my area, black people don't speak well--in that they don't enunciate and they tend to use incorrect verb tenses, etc. Not these ladies--with maybe one or two minor exceptions they all spoke proper American English. Now, the principal, on the other hand...ugh! But he seemed to have a passion for the school and the kids, so...

I keep thinking it's time to post, but I don't have a pressing topic...

So let's see...kids went back to school--two college co-eds and a middle schooler. ;)

I went back to full-time work, which I'm not real pleased about, but I do have a lot of free time to piddle, I just can't get my housework done. :(

My dogs cost me $700 at the vet because they both had viral infections under the skin. Plus they boarded at the vet while my in-laws painted the living room molding with oil-based paint. :(

My kitchen is finished, to include the four various cabinet doors that had not been installed. YAY!

My living room is 98% finished. We just need to put the vertical blind slats back up and then install the transitions in the doorways between the floorings. YAY!

The publisher I was hoping to submit my YA novel to closed its YA line. :(

There's a lack of readable fanfic for NCIS and the BBC's Robin Hood. :(

I'm getting together with a girlfriend for a brainstorming session tonight. :)

But now the lovely eye-candy that it Jonas Armstrong's Robin Hood is gone...